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How to start a Lucrative Cucumber Farming Business in Nigeria
Cucumber farming in Nigeria is a very profitable agribusiness
due to its popularity, acceptance and health benefits.
Individuals who have invested in cucumber farming in Nigeria can
attest to its profitability. Cucumber is not as complex as other
areas of agriculture, one can start cucumber farming in Nigeria
with little or no experience in farming.
Cucumber plants can only grow under tropical conditions.
Cucumbers can be grown under protected cultivation (Greenhouses,
polytunnels or nethouses) and in open fields.
Cucumbers can yield well under hydroponic conditions. There are
instances where cucumber plants yield 2000% more when grown
under hydroponic conditions.
You should get your farmland in a place that has good roads for
easy evacuation of your produce. Fresh cucumbers can get spoilt
within days so it is not advisable to get your farmland in a
place that will take days to access due to bad roads.
The farmland should have a good topography. It should not be too
undulating. Flat farmland is better. Sloppy farmland encourages
erosion; this may negatively impact your crops.
Farmland can either be leased or out rightly acquired, just look
at your cash flow and decide.
Human Capital
You will need to employ some farm hands if you want your
cucumber farming business to be successful. For the unskilled
jobs on your farm, immigrant farm hands from the Republic of
Benin or Togo are better. They are more productive than most
unskilled Nigerians who prefer to engage in Okada business than
farming.
Experience counts than any big paper qualification. You can
poach experienced hands from nearby cucumber farms. Your staff
can make or mar your cucumber farming business.
Water and Power
You need to sort out the source of water and power to the farm.
Your farm should have a borehole or well or river or dam, just
any good source of all year round water. The water will be used
for irrigation. Anyone willing to engage in cucumber farming
must farm all year round. Rain fed farming is not too
profitable.
Power is key, if your farm is not around the public grid, you
should use a generator to get power for your farm. Power will be
used for irrigation and lighting if need be.
Choice of seed
You may either plant hybrid cucumber seeds or open pollinated
cucumber seeds. Hybrid seeds are more expensive but they produce
higher yields and they are disease resistant. Hybrid seeds have
shorter maturity period. Open pollinated cucumber seeds are
cheaper but the yields are not as high as hybrid seeds, they are
also not as disease resistant as hybrid seeds.
Staking
Though, most cucumber farmers in Nigeria do not stake their
vines. If you want to be very efficient in cucumber farming, it
is advisable you stake the vines. Staking improves aeration in
your cucumber field, reduces diseases and increases yield
significantly.
Cucumber farmers in the north that do no stake harvest cucumbers
from the vines 2-3 times while those who stake may harvest up to
10 times.
Harvesting
Cucumbers should be harvested at the right time. Every cucumber
farmer should know how to harvest cucumbers at the right time.
Failure to pick the cucumbers at the right time from their vines
may lead to an overall dip in the yield.
Marketing of Produce
It is always better you sell your cucumber produce to organized
markets like shoprite, hotels and vegetable shops etc. This set
of customers buy per kg. A kilogram of cucumbers in Lagos goes
for N800 –N1,500.
For those willing to sell the unorganized market, Mile 12 market
Lagos, Aba market, Abeokuta market, Farin Gada, Jos or any open
market around you. The main disadvantage of selling in
unorganized markets is that the prices are unpredictable.
PROFIT ANALYSIS FOR ONE ACRE OF CUCUMBER – SCENARIO 1
Revenue:
500 bags at N3000 each
1,500,000.00
Cost:
Rent of one acre of farmland
20,000.00
Fertiliser
100,000.00
Manure
20,000.00
Pesticides
20,000.00
Hybrid Seeds
35,000.00
Labour for 3 months
120,000.00
Drip Irrigation
200,000.00
Knapsack Sprayer
5,000.00
Farm Tools
5,000.00
Staking
30,000.00
Soil Test
10,000.00
565,000.00
Profit
935,000.00
PROFIT ANALYSIS FOR ONE ACRE OF CUCUMBER – SCENARIO 2
Revenue:
500 bags at N6000 each
3,000,000.00
Cost:
Rent of one acre of farmland
20,000.00
Fertiliser
100,000.00
Manure
20,000.00
Pesticides
20,000.00
Hybrid Seeds
35,000.00
Labour for 3 months
120,000.00
Drip Irrigation
200,000.00
Knapsack Sprayer
5,000.00
Farm Tools
5,000.00
Staking
30,000.00
Soil Test
10,000.00
565,000.00
Profit
2,435,000.00
Notes to Cucumber Farming Computation:
Revenue
It is assumed that one acre of land will yield 500 bags of 40kg
each (20 tonnes) of fresh cucumbers after 3 months. In the open
market in Nigeria, fresh cucumbers are sold in bags. A fully
packed yellow bag of cucumbers weigh about 40kg.
In the open market, a bag of cucumbers sells for N3,000-N8,000
depending on the season. Revenue in cucumber farming can vary a
great deal.
As shown in the table, when a bag of cucumbers is sold for
N3,000, expected revenue is N1.5 million, when it is sold for
N6,000, expected revenue is N3 million. Please note that a bag
of cucumbers can be sold as high as N8,000 in the open market
during the lean period.
For those selling in the more organized market (Shoprite, hotels
etc), a kilogram of fresh cucumber is sold for N400, selling 20
tonnes at the organized market will yield N8 million.
Farmland Rent
The rentage cost for one acre of farmland in Nigeria ranges from
N10,000-N20,000 especially the rural areas. It is a plus for you
to have your own farmland if you want to invest in cucumber
production.
Fertiliser
Soluble and chloride free fertilizers like Potassium Nitrate,
Calcium Nitrate, Monopotassium Phospohate, Potassium Sulphate,
Micronutrients, humates (humic acid and fluvic acid) and
microbial inoculants will be used. The cucumber plants will be
fertigated daily till the last days of final harvest.
Small quantities of the mixed fertiliser solution will be
applied to the roots of the cucumber plants every day through
drip irrigation. Humates will make the fertilizers stable and
stay at the root base; it also magnifies the efficiency of the
applied fertiliser. Microbial Inoculants will boost the
microbial profile of the soil.
N100,000 is expected to be spent on fertilization for 3 months
if you wish to participate in cucumber farming.
cucumber fertilizer
Manure
Chicken manure is the preferred manure for cucumber farming. 2-5
tonnes of chicken manure are required for one acre of farmland.
Chicken manure is a very potent source of nutrients. Some
farmers get the manure free of charge. We have put N20,000 for
the cost of manure for one acre.
manure for cucumber cultivation
Pesticides for cucumber farming
In cucumber farming, organic, inorganic pesticides or both can
be used. Before planting, high dosage of fluvic acid may be used
to decontaminate the soil. Neem oil and a suitable soap can also
be used to kill harmful nematodes and microbes, after applying
neem oil, molass and humic acid can be used to repopulate the
beneficial microbe in the soil.
Chemicals like Furadan can also be used for soil treatment;
however this kills the beneficial microbes in the soil.
Suitable chemical insecticides must be applied to the cucumbers
crops at the first sight of insects, do not spray insecticides
speculatively. For organic farmers, neem oil and microbial
insecticides can be used to tackle insect attacks, prevention is
better in the case of organic farming.
Downy Mildew is the most common and deadliest fungal infection
in cucumber plants. The incidences of downy mildew is higher in
the rainy season. Most farmers engaged in cucumber farming see
this disease often on their crops. There are good chemical
fungicides for prevention, ditto biofungicides.
We recommend good crop nutrition and microbial balance in your
cucumber cropping; this makes the plants strong enough to
withstand diseases.
Hybrid seeds
The commonest hybrid cucumber seeds in Nigeria are Murano F1,
Tokyo F1, Greengo F1, Monalisa F1 and Darina F1. These seeds are
high yielding and able to resist pest and diseases than open
pollinated varieties. Hybrid seeds worth N35,000 will plant one
acre.
Labour
Two hardworking staff can handle one acre of cucumber farm.
Adhoc staff especially women will be hired for cucumber
harvesting and other minor jobs. N120,000-N150,000 will do for
labour cost for one acre of cucumbers. Please note that labour
cost can vary with location.
Drip Irrigation
N200,000 will get your one acre of cucumbers drip irrigated.
With drip irrigation, you save amount of water and fertiliser to
use, labour cost is reduced, fertigation is enabled and yield is
significantly increased.
You need to have the passion for farming. Passion will make you
go on when things are not on your side. It is possible you get
it wrong the first time you try your hands on cucumber farming
but the passion you have for the business can make you try
again. Success is the ability to turn your failures to
successes. Just learn from your failures and try again.
Get our Practical Guide on Cucumber farming. In this
comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into the top tips and
strategies for successful Cucumber farming in Nigeria.
We will provide you with proper insight into successful Cucumber
farming. This guide covers all aspects of establishing new
Cucumber farms, from suitable varieties and site selection to
soil management, pest control, harvesting best practices
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